


An Evening Among Friends

by imaginarycircus



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2017-11-26 04:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/646690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarycircus/pseuds/imaginarycircus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Charlotte visits San Francisco, GiGi takes them out for a day of shopping followed by an impromptu dinner party with Fitz and his partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Evening Among Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [izzyb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izzyb/gifts).



> Requested [here](http://deshi-basara.livejournal.com/15482.html?thread=43130#t43130). I hope it fits the bill.

After they'd stopped for coffee, GiGi convinced Lizzie and Charlotte to run over to Tiffany's in Union Square because she needed help picking out a wedding present for an old family friend. 

"Who registers at Tiffany's?" Charlotte said under her breath as they followed GiGi into the store. 

Lizzie shook her head. She was always a bit nervous about getting too close to any of the merchandise in stores like this, afraid of leaving fingerprints and smudges on the pristine glass. 

They agreed that the white basket weave plates were a good gift. Lizzie tried not to gasp when she saw how much a single setting of china cost, but Charlotte did make a small noise. GiGi, who didn't seem to notice their astonishment, bought the entire lot. Twelve place settings, which she paid for with an AMEX platinum card. Maybe it was sticker shock, but neither Lizzie, nor Charlotte blinked an eye when GiGi dragged them down to the Estate jewelry section and insisted they all try on tiaras. A saleswoman in a navy suit took them into a small room outfitted with comfortable chairs and waited for a man to bring in several velvet lined boxes. 

Lizzie wish she'd worn shoes that weren't so scuffed, or that she'd had a chance to brush her hair. She held her breath and waited for the woman to shake her head and demand that they leave because obviously they were not going to be buying any tiaras. But Rita, the saleswoman was called Rita--introduced herself with a friendly smile and made note of each of their names. Lizzie knew that Rita wouldn't have to ask any of them for their name second time. 

It's just pretend, Lizzie told herself as Rita had her sit down in front of a large gilt-framed mirror and set a one hundred and fifty year old sapphire and diamond tiara on her head. 

"This a truly lovely piece and it brings out your eyes, Lizzie. It belonged to a Russian princess, but it was made in Paris in 1850."

It looked ridiculous with her scarf and tweed coat, but it was undeniably beautiful and a little bit heavy. As a child, Lizzie hadn't really dreamed of being a princess, hadn't daydreamed about the perfect wedding dress, hadn't wanted to be saved by a knight in shining armor. She'd watched all the movies with Jane and Lydia, but had loudly insisted that she would never be stupid enough to get herself into a mess from which she needed a man to rescue her. Jane had told Lizzie had no sense of romance. Lydia said no guy would ever want to save Lizzie anyway. But the tiara made her imagine for just a moment that she lived in a different time and place. That she was wearing an enormous silk gown and perfect tiny shoes and was about to be swept into a waltz, by a tall, dark haired... No. She told herself not to be ridiculous and was very glad that neither Charlotte, nor GiGi could read minds. 

Lizzie practiced walking around the tiny room without moving her head too much because if the thing fell off and broke she'd probably have to sell a kidney and maybe an ovary. 

Rita placed an enormously tall pearl and diamond crown, because no way was it just a tiara, on Charlotte's head and they all burst out laughing. Not because Charlotte didn't look wonderful, but it was just so big and Charlotte was not. 

Rita plucked it away and selected a much more delicate Art Deco tiara, that made GiGi sigh when Charlotte turned her head from side to side to admire it. 

GiGi insisted on trying on a piece from 1890 that featured a diamond the size of an egg. 

"Not very practical," she said to her reflection. "But it would be fun to wear it around. I'd probably wear it everywhere for a while. Can you imagine taking out the trash while wearing this?" 

Lizzie almost blurted, "You take out your own trash?" But stopped herself in time. What did she know? Maybe GiGi did vacuum and wash her own dishes--though in all honestly she couldn't imagine William Darcy doing those things. 

GiGi thanked Rita. They took off their borrowed finery and watched it all go back into its cases. Rita thanked them for coming and offered her services, should they ever again want to try on any jewelry that none of them could afford again. That last part was only a thought of Lizzie's--Rita hadn't said that. (And maybe GiGi could afford it.) 

"Wasn't that fun?" GiGi squealed as she buttoned up her coat and they exited onto Post Street. 

"It actually was," Charlotte said, grinning sheepishly at Lizzie. Lizzie linked arms with Charlotte and agreed. She felt a great bubble of something iridescent and joyful building up inside herself. Perhaps it was having Charlotte visit, but she suspected it was more than that. Life just seemed very good at that moment. She was in a city she was coming to love, with friends, out having adventures. It made a future she needn't be frightened of seem not only possible, but probable. 

Evening was coming on and it was crisp, but not freezing. Lizzie wished she'd worn a sweater under her jacket. 

GiGi glanced down at her phone and squeaked. "Oh, hey. Fitz wants to make us dinner. Please. Can we? Please. Please. Please." 

Lizzie glanced at Charlotte who nodded and Lizzie accepted. It would be great to see Fitz and meet his boyfriend. She knew that it was unlikely that they would all have dinner without GiGi's brother present, but that was all right. Lizzie could be in the same room with Darcy and cutlery at this point without fear of life in prison. 

"Do we need to change?" Charlotte asked, looking down at her jeans and black suede flats. 

"Oh, of course not. It's casual. Fitz and Leon are making tamales and margaritas. They've already started juicing the limes." 

They hopped into GiGi's Mini Cooper and headed to Fitz's apartment on Telegraph Hill. Lizzie was eighty, maybe ninety percent sure she wasn't about to walk into some awkward set up that GiGi and Fitz had cooked up. They wouldn't do something like that when Charlotte was around. Probably. 

"So, do you try on tiaras often?" Charlotte asked GiGi. 

GiGi laughed. "No, but I've always wanted to. Sometimes being with Lizzie makes me feel brave." 

Lizzie blinked in astonishment and was quite flattered, and still not a little stunned that GiGi didn't hate her guts. She was even more startled when Charlotte, who was in the back seat agreed that Lizzie had that effect on people. Lizzie, who was afraid of change, afraid of moving out of her parents' house and getting on with her life made people feel brave? How odd. It really made her questions what other people saw when they looked at her.

Fitz and Leon had an amazing open plan apartment with a breathtaking view of the Bay growing dark as the sun set. The living room and kitchen were decorated in bright, warm colors. Lizzie immediately loved it. There was music playing in the backgroun. Lizzie knew she knew what it was, but couldn't place it. Some kind of Brazilian jazz. 

Leon, whom she was meeting for the first time, kissed her on the cheek and pushed a frosty margarita into her hand before she'd made it two feet into the apartment. "I'm so glad to finally meet the famous Lizzie Bennet! I've seen all your videos. I'm a huge fan." 

"Great." Lizzie couldn't unclench her teeth. 

"Oh, but I love them. They're so funny--except when they make me tear up." Leon wasn't much taller than Lizzie. He flashed her a magnetic smile that crinkled his large, dark eyes at the corners. She believed that he was being absolutely sincere though it was still strange that so many people had connected so deeply with her rambling videos about her life. She really didn't think she was all that interesting. 

"You cried. You totally cried when Jane did." Fitz nudged Leon aside and kissed Lizzie, GiGi, and Charlotte hello and handed out more margaritas. 

GiGi poked Lizzie in the arm. "Don't look so worried." 

Lizzie did her best to unknot the tension in her gut. The wonderfully tart margarita helped. Fitz escorted them over to two long, low couches and pushed chips and guacamole closer to them on the large square coffee table. 

"The tamales will be done in a half an hour. So we can all just relax until then." Leon sat down next to Fitz and focused his dark eyes on Lizzie. "Have you talked to Lydia at all? I'm worried about her." 

Lizzie choked on her margarita and hurriedly set it down before she spilled it. Fitz gave Leon a look and fetched a glass of water for Lizzie. Charlotte patted her on the back. 

"I'm sorry. Was that too blunt? Fitz says I'm always too blunt." Leon seemed genuinely contrite and strangers on the internet frequently asked her much more intimate questions. She knew that she opened herself up to these questions by putting so much about herself out there for anyone to come across.

"No. We'll patch things up when I get home again." She spoke with more confidence than she actually felt. She truly did miss Lydia.

Leon and Fitz exchanged another look, but Lizzie couldn't figure out what that one meant. Leon opened his mouth, but Fitz shook his head and Leon closed it again. 

"I think Lydia misses you," GiGi said. 

Lizzie was desperate to change the subject and said the first thing that came into her head. "So where's Darcy?" 

This time it was GiGi and Fitz who exchanged looks and she thought Charlotte might have also been included in that unspoken _Uh-huh, she actually just said that._

"He's working, if you can believe it." Fitz shook his head. 

"On a Saturday night?" Lizzie knew Darcy had a work ethic that put other people to shame, but seriously. Everyone needed downtime. Then it occurred to her that maybe he hadn't come because she was there. Was he that desperate to avoid her, or he was he simply trying not to make her uncomfortable?

Charlotte chatted with Fitz and Leon about Catherine De Bourgh and Lizzie found herself fretting, imagining Darcy in his office, alone, while they were all drinking excellent margaritas and eating the best guacamole she'd ever had. Guilt doesn't pair well with either of those items. 

Charlotte got up to use the restroom and GiGi slid over next to Lizzie and bumped her knees against Lizzie's. "You got pretty quiet. You all right?" 

Fitz and Leon were debating what music to put on next and not paying them any mind. 

"Yeah, I'm all right." She took another sip of her drink. "Do you think Darcy didn't come because of me?" 

GiGi shrugged. "It's hard to tell sometimes. He does have a lot on his plate right now and it's not unusual for him to work weekends, but it does seem a little..."

"Unhealthy?" Lizzie supplied. 

"Insane," GiGi said. "But I think he didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"That's dumb." Lizzie drained her margarita and Fitz snatched the glass away to get her a refill. "Call him and tell him to come over." 

GiGi stared at her blankly and then her eyes lit up. She whipped out her phone. "William. You need to come over here right now and have dinner with us. Even Lizzie wants you to come. No. She actually said so. No, she did. Listen." 

GiGi held out her phone towards Lizzie who said, "Darcy, it's fine."

Lizzie kind of wished GiGi hadn't made her say that because it made her insides feel suspiciously fizzy, but she had told GiGi to call him. She took a deep breath. She could do this. It probably wouldn't be so awkward if they weren't alone.

"He'll be here in fifteen minutes." GiGi called over her shoulder to Fitz, "William is on his way because Lizzie used her magical powers!" 

"Way to go, Lizzie B." Fitz handed her another margarita and filled Charlotte in as she returned from the bathroom looking curious. 

"God. Don't they both want to make you scream?" Charlotte rolled her eyes. 

Leon laughed. "So much unresolved sexual tension. What? Am I being too honest again? But it's true! It thought you were both going to spontaneously combust in your last video."

It might have been the tequila making Lizzie's face flame. She pressed her cold fingers to her cheek, which did absolutely nothing to cool her off. Drinking did tend to make her pale skin flush, but she was pretty sure it was the topic of conversation. 

"Don't make me regret this." She looked at each one of them and begged, "Please don't make this awkward when he gets here."

"We'll behave," GiGi promised and they all looked at Leon. 

"I'll try. I promise I'll try to be on my best behavior." Lizzie knew he meant it, but didn't feel entirely confident based on his performance so far. 

Leon asked about Lizzie's internship and they chatted about Leon's law firm, where he'd just made partner until a buzzer in the kitchen sounded at the same moment the doorbell rang. Lizzie's stomach flipped.

"Darcy, man. You have impeccable timing." Fitz answered the door and slapped Darcy affectionately on the back. "Dinner is just about ready. Here's a drink. Go sit and entertain the ladies until we're ready. Five minutes tops."

GiGi jumped up to hug her brother and sat down leaving the spot next to Lizzie free. She was so not subtle. Darcy shook hands with Charlotte, who was polite, but not exactly the friendliest Lizzie had ever seen her. 

"Lizzie," Darcy said and looked at the empty spot next to her in confusion. 

"Darcy, you can sit down. I won't make you wear a costume or anything. I don't even have a camera." 

Darcy did that thing where he almost smiled and then sat down, careful not to crowd her. GiGi quickly roped Charlotte into a conversation Lizzie couldn't quite hear and wasn't about to lean across Darcy to try. 

"So, you survived a day of shopping with my sister?" Darcy was speaking into his margarita glass and Lizzie glanced at him. She'd been too nervous to really look at him. He was sitting up very straight, of course, but something was off. 

"You're not wearing a tie," she said. 

"No." He glanced at the open button of his blue button down. "They're not surgically attached or anything." 

Lizzie laughed and the side of his mouth quirked up. 

Leon called them into dinner and when they approached the dining table Darcy skirted around the far side and sat across from Lizzie, letting GiGi take the chair next to her. She started to over think his motives and totally didn't hear GiGi ask her if she wanted another drink. GiGi tapped her hand and asked again. Lizzie declined, not wanting to be anymore muzzy headed than she already was. 

Leon stood at the head of the table, to Lizzie's right and waved his hands as if he were preforming a magic trick. "We have three kinds of tamales. These are beef. The middle platter is black bean and the ones down there are shrimp. There's salsa verde and also red chile. The red is hot, so watch it." 

Fitz made sure everyone had ice water and refreshed drinks before they began to pass the platters, which smelled amazing. Lizzie wanted to take one of each, but knew her eyes tended to be bigger than her stomach. She started with shrimp and salsa verde, with just a dollop of red chile sauce. She watched in fascinated horror as Darcy practically drown his tamales in red chile. She had tested it by dabbing the tines of her fork in it. It was hot like hellfire--her tongue still throbbed in that one small spot. He took a bite, and she waited for him to flinch or choke. He didn't and although Lizzie couldn't say why she was a little bit impressed. This was William Darcy--sans tie. William Darcy, eater of spicy food. William Darcy, smirker. This was not a William Darcy with whom Lizzie was familiar. He glanced up at her and looked startled. She realized it was because, for a change, she was staring at him. She quickly turned her attention to GiGi who was telling Fitz all about their tiara adventure. 

"You should have seen Lizzie. She was practically afraid to move with the thing on at first, but she looked wonderful. Rita was right. The sapphires really did bring out her eyes." 

Lizzie took another bite of tamale to keep herself from pointing out that she wasn't used to wandering around with enough diamonds on her head to purchase a nice beach house. 

"Why tiaras?" Darcy asked his sister. 

"I thought it was too soon for engagement rings," GiGi said. Darcy dropped his fork and GiGi looked entirely too satisfied with herself. Lizzie gripped her knife tightly, vowing she would not stab any Darcys.

Charlotte quickly jumped into to the awkward silence. "Hey, Leon. These tamales are fabulous. Did you make the salsa verde yourself?" 

Lizzie mouthed thank you at her bestie. She knew Charlotte wasn't really interested in cooking or exchanging recipes. Everyone agreed that the food was wonderful and deservedly so, which let the atmosphere drift back to something approaching normal. GiGi was such a trouble maker. 

Darcy drifted into a conversation with Charlotte about work that Lizzie opted not to follow. She turned to GiGi who was asking Fitz what his travel plans were for the coming year. 

"It's going to be hard for us to get time off together, but I think we're going to head down to Cabo for a long weekend soon. Then I don't know. We've been talking about Italy in June. What do you think?" Fitz asked GiGi.

"Don't wait until summer if you're going to Venice. It'll be too hot. You could probably manage Tuscany though." 

"Have you been to Italy?" Leon asked Lizzie. 

"No. I've never been anywhere outside the US and Canada." She felt a little sheepish and out of place, a little like a kid at the adult table. 

"Me neither," Leon confided, fork paused part way to his mouth. "We never had enough money when I was a kid and now I'm always too busy. Also I really hate to fly, but Fitz loves to travel so I'm going to take a Xanax and deal even though the idea of flying over the Atlantic makes me break out in a cold sweat. But he promised we could go to Disney World after that."

"Disney World?" Lizzie laughed at the incongruity. 

"Yeah." Leon looked a bit abashed. "I never got to go as a kid and Fitz told me I should just go even though I'm an adult now. He's been like a million times, but he said he'd go with me. GiGi wants to go too." 

"Do you have a big family?" Lizzie asked. 

"Nope. Only child. It must be nice to have sisters like you do. My father died when I was little and my mom sent me to live with my grandmother. She was the one who taught me to cook."

"She must have been an incredible cook," Lizzie said eyeing the tamales she hadn't tried yet and wondering if she could manage another one or two. She grudgingly decided to eat some salad first because she hadn't been all that great about eating balanced meals since she'd been on her own in the city. Vegetables. What are those?

"She was something else." Leon nodded fondly. "She would have liked you. You've got spirit." 

Lizzie was about to ask how he knew that, but she realized that Leon felt like he knew her because he'd seen her videos. All the videos in which she'd loudly lambasted Darcy--Leon's friend. Was it weird that all Darcy's closest friends and family forgave her so easily? She really didn't deserve such kindness, but GiGi, Fitz, and Leon seemed to be truly lovely people. 

Lizzie glanced at Darcy who was nodding at something Charlotte was saying about Ricky Collins and Catherine De Bourgh. She'd wondered how someone like Darcy could have such wonderful friends. In the past she'd snottily thought it was because he was rich, but that wasn't kind to either him or his friends. No. She could see now why they were all friends and it was another measure of how badly she'd misjudged Darcy, who caught her staring again. His mouth quirked up on one side and she wondered if it was possible for her to spontaneously combust. What had Leon said? Unresolved sexual tension. OK. Maybe he had a point. She wasn't about to lie to herself about her wandering thoughts, and maybe it was the second drink, but also her wandering eyes. Even though Darcy caught her every time she couldn't stop herself. 

When they were all finished, Darcy insisted on clearing and made Leon and Fitz stay seated. "You cooked. You don't have to clean up too. That's the rule." Darcy said to Fitz, who explained for Charlotte and Lizzie. "When we shared an apartment in college that was the rule. The cook didn't have to clean up, but Darcy can't cook so he was always stuck with the clean up, which he actually excels at. No surprise there." 

"I like things to be neat. There's no crime in that." Darcy cleared Lizzie's plate and she felt jittery being so close to him.

"Do you need a hand?" Lizzie was on her feet before he could respond and he had to take a quick step back so she didn't bump into him. 

He looked like he was going to decline her offer, but then nodded and thanked her. She cleared the plates he hadn't and followed him to the kitchen. Darcy seemed to know where everything was. He set the plates in the sink and relieved her of the ones she'd carried. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, which was unexpectedly riveting. The roll of muscle under skin--Lizzie felt like she'd never properly seen anyone's wrists before, the way men never saw women's ankles in Victorian times. She giggled and Darcy glanced at her. 

"Sorry. Nothing." She shook her head. No way was she going to explain her thoughts. Ever. To anyone. On pain of death. 

Darcy was a very methodical dishwasher. He rinsed everything meticulously before putting it in the dishwasher--except the margarita glasses, which needed to be hand washed. Lizzie grabbed a brightly striped dish cloth and dried them, glad at least to have a reason to be standing there.

"Thank you," Darcy said while adding soap to the dishwasher. 

"For what?" Lizzie paused midway through drying the glass she was holding. 

"For asking me to come over. For not minding my presence." 

"Of course, I don't mind. We're friends." Lizzie suddenly wondered how strong they'd made those margaritas. 

"We are?" Darcy's eyebrows flew up almost into his hairline. "I mean that that's good, but I didn't want to assume. I've made that mistake in the past." 

"I think we both made mistakes in the past," Lizzie said and folded the dishcloth into smaller and smaller rectangles, purposely not meeting Darcy's eyes. "Where do these glasses go?" 

Darcy pointed out the cabinet and Lizzie opened it. The only open space was on the top shelf. This kitchen obviously wasn't designed for short people. How did Leon cope with that? But she spied a footstool and dragged it over, before carefully putting the first glass on the shelf. She sense Darcy next to her and looked down to see he was handing her the next glass, which she took from him. There was something so odd and unsettling about looking down on him that she started to lose her balance. Darcy grabbed her by the waist and steadied her. She'd grabbed onto his shoulder with her free hand. He held on to her, his hands radiating warmth through her thin cotton shirt. He said, "Are you all right?" 

She nodded because words were not possible. She was all sensation and heat. How could she have ever thought this man cold? The smolder in his eyes could probably melt steel. He let go of her. She slowly and reluctantly removed her hand from his shoulder and went back to putting the glasses away, trying very hard not to let them clatter against the shelf as she set each one down with her shaking hands. 

He held out a hand to help her down from the stool when she was finished and even when she had both feet planted on the ground he held on. His hand was slightly damp from washing the dishes, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was quite pleasant, actually. 

"Coffee? Tea?" 

Lizzie jumped and Darcy dropped her hand and shoved his own in his pocket. Neither of them had heard Fitz approaching, apparently. 

"Yes, please," Darcy said. 

Fitz furrowed his brow. "Which? Coffee or tea?"

"Whatever is easier," Darcy said absently. 

"Lizzie?" Fitz said. 

"Tea, please." 

"Sure. Go sit down, you two. Thanks for cleaning up."

"Lizzie," GiGi stood up from the table. "You haven't seen the view from the balcony. Come on. Charlotte, you should come see it too." 

Lizzie couldn't say if she was relieved or disappointed that Darcy sat back down and didn't follow them. GiGi closed the French doors behind them and she and Charlotte both started peppering her with questions simultaneously. 

"What was that?" 

"Was he holding your hand?" 

"Wait. Why did he have his hands on your waist?" That was GiGi. 

"He had his hands on her waist?" Charlotte said, mouth agape. "How did I miss that?" 

"I lost my balance. He was just making sure I didn't fall off the stool." Lizzie tried to make it sound like they were making a mountain out of a molehill, but they were right. It was a mountain. Maybe not Everest, but something tall and sharp like Mont Blanc.

"Oh, come on. I haven't seen you blush this much since we were in eleventh grade--"

"Charlotte!" Lizzie snapped. 

"What happened in eleventh grade?" GiGi looked curiously at both of them. 

"Charlotte," Lizzie repeated and shook her head. Charlotte had promised they would never speak about that night again. 

"I'm not allowed to say," Charlotte grumbled. 

GiGi humphed. "Anyway. It didn't look like you minded when William kept you from falling." 

"I think she's changing her mind about him," Charlotte said. "Did you notice how she kept staring at him during dinner."

"Yes. That's a good sign. At least I hope it is," GiGi said. 

"Look. Both of you, take it down a notch. Maybe I don't feel the way as I used to, but you're both kind of freaking me out. I don't know and I don't even know if he still--" 

"Oh, please," Charlotte and GiGi said at the same time. 

"All right. We'll lay off," Charlotte said--looking right at GiGi, who nodded. 

"But I'm just so excited," GiGi bounced in place.

"I don't know that there's anything to get excited about at the moment." Lizzie really needed GiGi to let up. 

"But if you only knew, Lizzie--" 

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Leon poking his head out and calling them in for dessert. 

"Knew what?" Lizzie whispered to GiGi before they went back inside. 

"That this is the first time there is even the possibility that there's anything to get excited about." GiGi looked at her pointedly and went back inside. 

"Way to take the pressure off GiGi," Lizzie muttered. 

Fitz had made a flourless chocolate torte for dessert that was like chocolate transformed into velvety sin.

Lizzie did her best to eat it slowly, to savor each bite, but her piece vanished pretty quickly. Fitz offered her another piece and she hated to say no, but she was too full. 

Darcy only ate a few bites of his cake and Lizzie asked, "Don't you like chocolate?" 

"I'm not a huge fan," he admitted. 

"Oh, no." Charlotte buried her face in her hands and everyone glanced at her, but she turned to Darcy. "You're going to wish you hadn't said that." 

Lizzie blinked at him as if he said he ate babies for breakfast. "You don't like chocolate? How can you not like chocolate? Who doesn't like chocolate? Do you know that there are over a hundred different chemical compounds that only exist in chocolate? Eating it releases serotonin and endorphins. It gives you a sense of well being, it's similar to the feeling of being in lo--" 

Lizzie coughed and everyone stared at their plates for a very uncomfortable moment. Leon swooped in this time and distracted everyone with a humorous story about an argument he and Fitz had had in the produce aisle while shopping that morning. They were debating whether they needed parsley or cilantro so vehemently that an older couple stopped and the woman patted Fitz on the arm saying, "We were just like that when we were first married too." 

"Are you two every going to get married," GiGi asked, cutting herself a razor thin second piece of cake. "You've been together forever."

"We've talked about it," Leon said, not at all uncomfortable with GiGi's nosiness. 

"We'll get around to it," Fitz said. He and Leon shared a look so full of adoration that Lizzie felt like she could float on it. She wanted that, hoped some day that she would have something like that. She didn't want a relationship like her parents'--one based on tolerance alone. 

"I want to be the maid of honor. Or the best man. Or whatever," GiGi announced tapping her fork on the tablecloth for emphasis.

"You can be the flower girl," Fitz told her. "Maybe."

GiGi laughed so hard that she snorted a little bit and that made everyone at the table laugh, including Darcy. 

Lizzie had never really seen him laugh before. It was astonishing. She shivered because all her defenses and misconceptions were being quickly stripped away, leaving her exceedingly vulnerable. She didn't like the feeling at all and her every instinct said to run from it, but she wasn't a coward, or at least she didn't want to be one.

Charlotte and GiGi cleared the dessert plates and cups. GiGi had only had the one margarita nearly three hours before and even her brother agreed that it was probably safe for her to drive, though he looked like he wanted to say otherwise. In that moment Lizzie could see how fiercely he loved his sister and that this was not a man who did anything by halves. She was feeling so many things so intensely that she balled up her hands in her napkin and curled up her toes inside her shoes. 

Fitz and Leon walked them all to the door to say goodnight. They insisted Lizzie come for dinner again soon, which Lizzie absolutely said she would. 

Darcy walked them to GiGi's car. He squeezed his little sister's shoulder and told her to drive safely and warned her that if she wasn't home in thirty minutes he'd call the police. 

GiGi giggled and said, "Yes, Dad." 

Darcy held the passenger side door open for Lizzie and she looked at him and didn't know what to say. So she smiled a self-conscious little smile. 

The corner of his mouth quirked up again and he said, "I'll see you Monday, Lizzie." 

She nodded, too tongue tied to even say goodnight and he closed the door after her. Neither Charlotte, nor GiGi jumped on her, or demanded anything, which was good because just at that moment Lizzie was consumed by the unsettling feeling that she was leaving something terribly important behind as they drove away.


End file.
